The word "parhaty" is used as a curse word most often in relation to Jews. But it is also used as a curse on any person. Why and how did this happen? We will try to find out the meaning of the word "Parhaty" in this article. So, more details.
What does the word mean?
First of all, we turn to the dictionary of D.N. Ushakova to find out the meaning of the word "parhaty".
This is an abusive expression or meaning "sick scab." Scab - a disease of the skin, hair and nails such as a fungus (mycosis). Other dictionaries also interpret the word.
In the Dahl dictionary there are such synonyms for the word "scab": "scaffold", "hull." The word "skinny" is also often found and means about the same. For example, "a hounding dog."
Sometimes “scab” was called dandruff (“parcha”), and then the meaning of the word “parchy” changed somewhat - “foolish parchy”. A hint of untidiness, negligence, neglected human appearance was added. This could be attributed to vagabonds, drunkards and other sloppy personalities.
Versions of the origin of the word
There are several versions of the origin of the word "parhaty". First - the so-called all patients with scab. The second is the Jews. It so happened that all the people of Jewish origin began to be called "foolish". Let us consider these assumptions in more detail.
Scab is a disease of the skin, hair or nails. It refers to mycoses, fungal diseases.
It is known that Jews, when they served in the tsarist troops, often suffered from fungal diseases (scab). Skin problems of a similar plan are characteristic of this people. The Slavs always had a bath in honor. The steam room was an excellent means to cleanse the skin and fight against fungi.
And Jews, however, like many European nations, steam rooms avoided. They considered it unnatural and therefore more often than others suffered from mycoses. The records of Zagelman (1898-1903), which examined physical health, indicate a large percentage of scab diseases (74.2%) among Jewish soldiers. They were treated and examined in military hospitals in St. Petersburg.
Since the people dubbed them "Jews", the result was a single swearing expression - "Zhid Parhaty." Such a nickname sounds insulting, but it has become a steady circulation of the Russian language. And where did the word "Jew" come from? It turns out from the Czech Republic.
Similarity to Czech
The third version of the origin of the words "parhaty" and "yid" connects them with linguistic similarity with words in the Czech language.
The abusive phrase has a different version of origin. It originates from the Czech language, in which "Jew" has a direct meaning - "Jew", and "ashes" mean "money." The second word has somewhat changed over time.
Based on this version, idiom ceases to be offensive. It directly means a Jew who has money. And the meaning of the word "parhaty" changes to "monetary".